February 17 2011 Last updated at 05:30 PM ET
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Jeff Burton, with help from teammate Clint Bowyer, swept to victory in the second Gatorade Duel Thursday at Daytona International Speedway.
It was the first Speedweeks victory ever for the veteran driver, 43, from South Boston, Va.
Bowyer was second, followed by Michael Waltrip, Kyle Busch and surprising, unsponsored Brian Keselowski, who got a big push from his little brother, Brad, to become the most unlikely top-five finisher in a Sprint Cup race in quite awhile. Full results are here.
In the first Gatorade Duel, Kurt Busch captured the checkered flag.
"It's a shame two cars can't fit in here (in victory lane)," Burton said. "With the way things are going (with the two-car draft), Clint and I decided we were just going to find each other early and it worked out for both of us. For us, it was a great start (to the season)."
Waltrip's finish put him in his 25th consecutive Daytona 500. Waltrip and Brian Keselowski were the two drivers who raced their way into the 500 by virtue of their finishes in the second Duel.
"They like to put a car together at MWR (Michael Waltrip Racing) for the old man," Waltrip said. "To race in the Daytona 500 is just such a great opportunity. I'm certainly proud we have a fast car. We're going to be up in the middle of all that mess."
Bowyer said, "I don't know if there will be another rule change. It was fun out there. Obviously, you always want to win, but I probably should have made my move a little earlier."
As Burton took the checkered flag, Trevor Bayne and Jeff Gordon lost control of their two-car draft and Bayne spun into David Ragan, sending them both spinning.
It was the last of several incidents. But the two-car drafts, and the tendency for the two cars to break away from others, also seemed to lessen the chances for the infamous "big one"-style crash involving a dozen or more cars so frequently seen here at Daytona and at Talladega Superspeedway.
One victim was Denny Hamlin, who continued to struggle perhaps more than anyone with this new form of racing.
After going below the yellow line in a move that cost him a win or a high finish in the Bud Shootout, Hamlin got sandwiched coming off turn two with 14 laps to go and spun down the backstretch. He did not hit anything.
Hamlin, being pushed by teammate Kyle Busch, had a head of steam coming off turn two and quickly closed the gap between his car and Greg Biffle's car in front of him. But Hamlin came up on Biffle so fast, he had nowhere to go. As he dipped toward the yellow line looking for a place to go, he got loose and spun.
"If I did anything wrong, let me know," Busch said on his radio to Hamlin.
"No," Hamlin replied. "I tried to go to the low side and (Biffle) didn't give me any room."
Although the two-car tandems are providing some of the most unusual racing ever seen here, they haven't made the races any less competitive. Thursday's second Duel featured 22 lead changes among seven drivers, a record for the event.
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